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Student Worker Or Student Leader - The EBook!

Do you know the difference between a student worker and a student leader?

I've compiled the Student Worker or Student Leader series of posts into a downloadable EBook.  Now, those who work with students in leadership positions can pass this information on to them in an easy-to-read format.

Too many students think that once they are elected or selected to serve in a student leadership position they are automatically student leaders.  But that's not true.  It's a myth that is backed up by title alone.  A position does not make one a leader.  It is when a student gets others involved and guides that group toward a common purpose or vision that one begins to lead.

Download the Student Worker or Student Leader Ebook (PDF - 179KB)

Student Worker Or Student Leader [7 of 7]

A student worker does the job then moves on.
A student leader develops others to take over when he or she leaves. 

One of the most overlooked aspects of a student leader position is in the area of how a student leader  leaves.  We spend a lot of time talking about preparation and implementation.  We are conscious of commitment levels and the ability to accomplish our jobs with excellence.  But what happens when it's time to step aside?  A student worker and a student leader will handle the final days a little differently.

A student worker will work hard to do a task, project, or assignment.  Yet when the job is done, the student worker will move on because the work is completed.  If there's nothing left to do, then there is no reason for the student worker to stick around (unless there's more to be done).  In fact, the mindset of the student worker is to move forward from the completion of a task or project on to the next task or project that lies ahead of him or her.

A student leader understands that part of his or her responsibilities is developing other student leaders.  The legacy that a student leader leaves behind will be felt by the one who steps in behind him or her.  Student leaders take the time necessary to develop and equip those who step in so that they will be successful.  Even though the tasks of the position may be complete, the student leader's job isn't finished until the next student leader is adequately prepared and trained for the assignment.

Every person who steps into a student leadership position will have to step away at some point.  When it's time to leave, a student leader will consider the following:

• Have I left the position better than I found it?
• Whom have I invested in to continue the duties of this position?
• Will anything be easier for the next person because of the work I've done this year?
• What will I be remembered for - the tasks I accomplished or the people I've developed?  Or both?

These are all issues that center around the idea of legacy.  An effective student worker will be remembered for doing a good job.  An effective student leader will be remembered for raising up good people.  There is definitely some overlap here.  Both the student worker and the student leader will be measured and judged by how they leave their position.  Everyone has to leave at some point, the question is, Will you leave well?

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Previous Posts In The Student Worker Or Student Leader Series
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [6 of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [5 of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [4 of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [3b of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [3 of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [2 of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [1 of 7]

The Focus Of A Student Worker / Student Leader

As new people are entering into student leadership positions, one of the questions that they are asking is: "What should I be focusing on?"

The answer to that question will begin to determine one's leaning toward student worker or student leader.

A student worker will focus on the tasks of the position. He or she will seek out people as a part of the process of completing tasks.

A student leader will focus on people.  He or she will begin to bring people together to invest in them and to allow them to use their giftedness in order to complete the tasks that are required.  In many instances, a student leader won't begin to work on tasks until the right people are on board.

The student worker sees people as a means to completing tasks.
The student leader sees tasks as a means to developing people.

A student worker knows that he or she will need people at certain times throughout his or her student leader year in order to complete the tasks that the position requires.  People are necessary because the student worker can't do it alone.

A student leader knows that there are certain tasks that need to be accomplished throughtout his or her student leader year, but waits to see who can be brought on the team and shapes the tasks accordingly.  People are necessary because the leader won't do it alone.

Where is your focus? On the tasks or on the people. 

NOTE: The true test of this occurs when the person in the student leader position has no tasks on their plate for a period of time.  If it feels like you have nothing to do, you are probably leaning toward being a student worker.  But if you use the down time to invest in people, you are probably more of a student leader.

Student Worker Or Student Leader [6 of 7]

A student worker feels successful by what he/she personally accomplishes.
A student leader feels successful by what his/her people accomplish.

In my office, I have a shelf where I keep momentos and various "trophy" type awards.  These are special keepsakes that remind me of past projects and positions that went well.  So well, in fact, that people were happy to commemorate them for me.

Success can be defined in a variety of ways.

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be” - George Sheehan

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” - Herman Cain

“Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.” - Jim Rohn

Each person carries an idea, a perspective on what one defines as success.  Personal success can be based on any number of things.  In fact, what constitutes success for a student worker will be different than what a student leader sees as successful.

For the student worker, success can be identified by doing the job well.  There are certain expectations, qualifications, and responsibilities that need to be accomplished.  A student worker has a job to do.  If that person does the job well, perhaps even better than those who have done it before, then that person may walk away from the experience feeling successful.  The level of success is based on their personal performance.

On the other hand, the student leader will gauge his or her own success by the results produced from those whom he or she leads.  If the leader's team fails, they fail.  Even if he or she has done everything that was required and fulfilled their personal responsibilities, the failure of the team will feel like a personal failure.

What's ironic is that a student worker will receive accolades for a job well done, while a student leader will pass out the accolades to the team for a job well done.  A student leader feels successful because the people that he or she works with are successful.  A student leader will pass the credit on to his or her people.  A student worker will receive the credit him or herself. 

It's not that one's right and one's wrong...it's just different.

As I look at the trophies on my shelf, I can see where many of them came from the work I did.  But the ones that I find the most meaningful are from the times I was a part of something bigger than myself - when I led a team of people that was successful.  It's during those moments I discovered there is a difference between success and significance.

A student leader strives to make a significant impact in the success of others.

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Previous Posts In The Student Worker Or Student Leader Series
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [5 of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [4 of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [3b of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [3 of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [2 of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [1 of 7]

 

Student Worker Or Student Leader [5 of 7]

A student worker tries to work on his or her weaknesses.
A student leader focuses on his or her strengths.

Marcus Buckingham, in his book, Now, Discover Your Strengths writes the following:

"This fixation with weakness is deeply rooted in our education and upbringing.  We presented parents with this scenario: Say your child returns home with the following grades: an A in English, an A in social studies, a C in biology, and an F in algebra.  Which of these grades would you spend the most time discussing with your son or daughter?

Seventy-seven percent of parents chose to focus on the F in algebra, only 6 percent on the A in English, and an even more miniscule number, 1 percent, on the A in social studies."

Buckingham later writes, "Many of us avoid the exposure of building on our strengths.  Instead, we stay in the workroom patching up the cracks.  It is diligent, it is humble, and society respects it.  Unfortunately...patching up your weaknesses will never lead you to excellence."

The student worker will soon discover that he or she can't do everything well.  This realization will push the student worker to try and shore up those areas where he or she feels weakest.  Perhaps, it's in the area of communication - "I can't speak well in front of a crowd, I must spend more time trying to get better at that!"  While it's important to develop good communication skills, not everyone is gifted as a public speaker.  In fact, a student worker may come to the end of the time in his or her position and find that he or she is only an average speaker.

But what if the student worker is an outstanding organizer?  Rather than focus on gaining greater momentum in the area of organization, a student worker will spend more time on the area of communication because that appears to be the most glaring weak spot.  Thus, the student worker spends hardly any time at all on organizing.  And this is where the organization could most benefit from the student worker's expertise.

The student leader, on the other hand, understands that the position that he or she holds is more than one person.  It calls for leadership.  That means additional people - people who have different gifts, abilities, and strengths then the leader.  So the student leader focuses on the key strengths that he or she can bring to the table.  Then (and this is KEY!) the student leader delegates and manages others in the areas that the student leader is weak.

If the student leader isn't good at public speaking, but he or she has strengths in the area of organization, then the student leader spends the majority of his or her time on organization.  They find people that have strengths in the area of public speaking and get them on their team.  Because when  student leaders focus on their strengths...

1. They give their best to the organization.
2. They make room for others to exhibit and operate out of their strengths.
3. They lead with confidence.
4. They recognize that they can't do everything.
5. They do excellent work.

A student worker often operates out of the notion that he or she must become well-rounded in order to be effective.  Unfortunately, this is a false notion.  A student leader realizes that there is no such thing as a well-rounded leader, there are only well-rounded organizations.  That is why a student leader seeks to operate out of his or her area of strength and places people on the team that add complementary strengths.
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Previous Posts In The Student Worker Or Student Leader Series
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [4 of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [3b of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [3 of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [2 of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [1 of 7]

Student Worker Or Student Leader [4 of 7]

A student worker feels responsible for the task.
A student leader feels responsible to his or her people.

When you were given your position as a leader (whether you were elected or selected), there were certain responsibilities that were both natural and necessary for you to accomplish.  There were certain tasks that needed to be accomplished.

Let's say that one of your responsibilities is an annual awards ceremony.   The difference between a student worker and a student leader can be identified in the way one approaches the event.  The student worker will begin to create a large to-do list of all of the things that need to be accomplished for a successful event.  The student leader will begin by identifying key people that he or she can bring on board to create a successful event.  One focuses more on tasks, the other more on people.

The student worker may begin to see that he or she needs to get some assistance from other people because the tasks are too great for one person to accomplish.  But the focus will still be on the accomplishment of the task.  The goal is to get something done.

The student leader realizes that there are numerous tasks, but focuses on signing up the right people - matching gifts and abilities with tasks and assignments.  The focus is on developing people and a team, putting people in the right place for them to succeed.  The goal is to invest in someone else.

In the end, both the student worker and the student leader work toward creating a successful awards ceremony.  A student worker will feel satisfaction because the awards ceremony was successful.  Success, in this instance, is measured by the accomplishment and success of the event.

The student leader will feel satisfaction because he or she created a team of people that flourished in the areas of their strengths and worked together to acheive something meaningful.  The measurement of success here is based on value it adds to people's lives.

How do you view your job description? 
Do you see people as a way to add value to your tasks? 
Or do you see tasks as a means to add value to people?
Which do you focus on more: tasks or people?
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Previous Posts In The Student Worker Or Student Leader Series
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [3b of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [3 of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [2 of 7]
• Student Worker Or Student Leader [1 of 7]

Student Worker Or Student Leader [3B of 7]

This is a continuation of the last Student Worker or Student Leader entry (#3!)...so I'm calling it 3B.  The statements were:

A student worker tries to do it all well.
A student leader realizes what he or she can do well and gets others involved in the areas of his or her weakness.

In a recent conversation with one of my student leaders, we approached this topic from a slightly different perspective then the last entry.  The student leader showed me how he was capable of doing ALL the aspects of the job at a high level of excellence.  His statement to me was that if he were to pass along various responsibilities of the position, that it would be a negative thing in two ways:

1) He feels ultimately responsible for the work that is to be done and feels that he is the best one to do it.  To pass off work would appear that he is shirking his responsibilities.

2) He is the one who can produce the highest level of work.  To pass off the work would lessen the quality.

So you can see the dilemma.  Here we have a situation where a student is placed into a leadership position, but doesn't necessarily need to lead anyone (except himself) and can still accomplish the responsibilities of the job.  So is he really a leader?  I don't think so, I think he's a student worker.

Here's my response:  My desire is to see this student grow in his leadership capabilities.  I feel like investing in and bringing along more people into the tasks of the position would be healthier and more effective than the high level of quality of work.  I'm willing to sacrifice excellence for effectiveness in this instance.

I think the easy way out is to admit that he can do the job, do it well, and not have to rely, teach, equip, or involve others.  But that's not the intention of that position.  It is to be a leader, a facilitator, a gatherer of people toward some common purposes.  In fact, this student and I came to the realization that at certain levels, he operates much better in his gift mix as a student worker than he does as a student leader.  Not necessarily a bad thing, but, not what I'm teaching.

So what about your situation?  Do you have students who struggle to make the leap from worker to leader because they're really good at doing the job?  How do you help them to be more inclusive?

Student Worker Or Student Leader [3 of 7]

A student worker tries to do it all well.
A student leader realizes what he or she can do well and gets others involved in the areas of his or her weakness.

Excellence is more than just a one time event, it is an ongoing process, a lifestyle.  The effective student worker who holds excellence as an important value for his or her work will strive to do everything by that high standard. 

Unfortunately, none of us is good enough to do everything at a high level of effectiveness or efficiency.  Trying to do everything the best that you can doesn't always translate into something being done the best that it can be done.  Simply put, your best may not be the best.

In no way is that meant to sound harsh or condescending.  My point is that each of us have abilities and gifts that help us accomplish things at a high level of excellence.  But we also have blindspots and weaknesses that produce work that may be average and mediocre at best.  A student worker who attempts to do everything him or herself must realize that there will be things that he or she does really well and things that they do that just gets one by.

Student leaders see the same areas of excellence and average within themselves and look for others who possess the ability to bring the average areas up to excellent.  A student leader works to produce the best possible results based on a combination of the gifts and abilities of those who are a part of his or her team.

Both a student worker and a student leader may say, "I can do this."  But student leaders begin to exhibit their leadership abilities when they add, "I can do this, but is there someone else who can do it better and more efficiently than I can."

Ultimately, this is a lot more positive than it is negative.  It's easy to see how a student can see this as a negative because one feels inadequate that he or she can't do everything that the job, task, or position requires.  But the overwhelming positive is when a student leader is freed up to invest more of him or herself in the areas of one's gifts and strength by bringing others on the team to operate in the areas of the student leader's weaknesses.
 

Student Worker Or Student Leader [2 of 7]

A student worker does the job all by him or herself.
A student leader involves others in getting things done.

It's easy to tell the difference here.  At the completion of an assignment or task, a student worker will talk in terms of "me."  A student leader will describe getting the task or project done in terms of "we."  One takes the task and gets it done.  The other gets the task done by involving others in the process.

Once again, it's not to say that one way is better than the other.  Somehow, the job must get done.  If I am responsible for it, and I do it myself, I can rest assured that it got done.  But I will not be leading, I will be working.  It is only when I engage others in the process and guide them toward the accomplishment of the task or project that I begin to engage in leadership.

Oftentimes, it's easier to do it ourselves.  We get in, do it, and we're done with it.  It's simply a natural and necessary part of your responsibilities.  But if we fall into the rut of only relying on ourselves, we miss the opportunity to engage others, to get others involved, to learn what it means to lead.

Think back over the past couple of weeks - was your position all about "me" or did it involve "we?"  You'll be surprised how much more you can accomplish when you involve others.

Student Worker Or Student Leader [1 of 7]

A student worker does the job he or she was elected/selected to do.
A student leader does the job he or she was elected/selected to do.

I did a half-day leadership training for the student leaders at a local high school just before Christmas break.  During the session, we spent some time talking about the differences between a student worker and a student leader.  A student worker is one who has a job to do and gets the work done.  A student leader also has a job to do and also gets the job done.  The difference (which will be outlined in these seven posts) is how each one goes about getting the job done.

It's important to note that I'm not going to be bashing the idea of student workers and praising the notion of student leaders.  Both are important and necessary.  The premise of these posts will be for the student worker who desires to become a student leader (because most students move from worker to leader, rather than vice versa).

You've been elected or selected to handle certain responsibilities.  It's up to you.  But how will you accomplish the tasks and projects that lie before you?  At the beginning moments of each year, the differences between a student worker and student leader are hard to detect.  Yet with each passing event, it becomes more and more evident which path a student is choosing.

I'll start to identify the paths in the second post of this series.